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Indian playback singer Alka Yagnik, who has over 100 Bollywood songs to her credit, has emerged on top of the Guinness Book of World Records list of as the world’s most streamed singers in 2022. The list has been curated based on the number of streams registered on her songs on YouTube. Alka beat some of the world’s most famous singers and bands, such as BTS, BlackPink, Taylor Swift, Drake, and Beyonce, to earn the title of the most streamed singer of 2022. It is her third year on this list, and it says a lot about the artist’s work and how well-received it continues to be even after decades have passed.
Most streamed singers in the world
According to the Guinness Book of World Records report, the Bollywood playback singer’s songs have recorded 15.3 billion streams – an average of 42 million streams per day. Alka is followed by Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican rapper, whose songs recorded 14.7 billion streams. While Bad Bunny bagged the second position, the third, fourth and fifth were earned by all Indian singers – Udit Narayan, Arijit Singh, and Kumar Sanu, respectively. Udit’s songs have recorded 10.8 billion streams, while Arijit has 10.7 billion, and Kumar has 9.09 billion.
Alka Yagnik and her evergreen voice
Tu mile, dil khile, aur jeene ko kya chahiye (My heart blooms now that I have met you, what else do I need to survive) – that’s exactly how many Indians feel when they listen to the sweet and captivating voice of Hindi playback singer Alka Yagnik. An icon in her own right, Alka has given us Indians a unique array of evergreen chartbusters. She has several romantic hits to her credit, a few of which became love anthems for couples in the 90s and early 2000s.
Some of her most famous songs include ‘Ek Do Teen’ from ‘Tezaab’ (1988), ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ from ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ (1998), ‘Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai’ from ‘Khalnayak’ (1993), ‘Gali Mein Chand’ from ‘Zakhm’ (1998), ‘Agar Tum Saath Ho’ from ‘Tamasha’ (2015). Alka has done playback singing for the best of Bollywood stars so far – from Madhuri Dixit, and Juhi Chawla to Sridevi.
She has been in the music industry, predominantly in Hindi, for more than four decades now, and has recorded over 8000 songs for movies and albums in a variety of Indian languages. Alka has won the National Film Award twice in the best female playback singer category. She won these for her songs ‘Ghoonghat Ki Aad Se’ from ‘Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke’ (1993), and ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ (1998). In addition to that, the celebrated artist has won seven Filmfare Awards for best female playback singer and has been nominated for various awards 36 times. In 2017, she received the Lata Mangeshkar Award for her valuable contribution to the field of music.
Top 5 evergreen songs by Alka Yagnik to add to your playlist (if you haven’t already)
1. Ek Do Teen, Tezaab
2. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (title track)
3. Tu Mile Dil Khile, Criminal
4. Gali Mein Chand, Zakhm
5. Ae Mere Humsafar, Qayamat SE Qayamat Tak
Photo: Facebook and Instagram/Alka Yagnik